Designer chiral quaternary ammonium bifluorides as an efficient catalyst for asymmetric nitroaldol reaction of silyl nitronates with aromatic aldehydes.

Designer chiral quaternary ammonium bifluoride 1 has been prepared, and both its catalytic and its chiral efficiency have been clearly demonstrated by achieving the first catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction of silyl nitronate with aldehydes. For instance, the reaction of trimethylsilyl nitronate 2 (R(1) = Me) with benzaldehyde (R(2) = Ph) in THF in the presence of (S,S)-1 (2 mol %) proceeded smoothly at -78 degrees C, giving the corresponding nitroaldol adduct 3 (R(1) = Me, R(2) = Ph) in 92% isolated yield (anti/syn = 92:8) with 95% ee (anti isomer). The method was found to be successfully applicable to other aromatic aldehydes and silyl nitronates, and a high level of anti selectivity and enantiomeric excess was constantly observed. This finding should lead to the further development of fluoride ion-catalyzed asymmetric carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions.

Highly enantioselective michael addition of silyl nitronates to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by designer chiral ammonium bifluorides: efficient access to optically active gamma-nitro aldehydes and their enol silyl ethers.

Highly enantioselective Michael addition of silyl nitronates to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes has been accomplished by the utilization of designer N-spiro C2-symmetric chiral quaternary ammonium bifluoride 1 as an efficient catalyst, providing direct access to both optically active gamma-nitro aldehydes, a very useful precursor to various complex organic molecules including aminocarbonyls, and their enol silyl ethers, a Mukaiyama donor of potential synthetic utility for further selective transformations. For instance, the reaction of trimethylsilyl nitronate 2 (R1 = Me) with trans-cinnamaldehyde (R2 = Ph, R3 = H) in toluene in the presence of (R,R)-1 (2 mol %) proceeded smoothly at -78 degrees C to give the desired enol silyl ether 3 (R1 = Me, R2 = Ph, R3 = H) in 90% isolated yield (anti/syn = 83:17) with 97% ee (anti isomer), and simple treatment of 3 thus obtained with 1 N HCl in THF at 0 degrees C afforded the corresponding gamma-nitro aldehyde 4 quantitatively without loss of diastereo- and enantioselectivity.

Asymmetric induction in the Neber rearrangement of simple ketoxime sulfonates under phase-transfer conditions: experimental evidence for the participation of an anionic pathway.

Phase-transfer catalysis has been successfully utilized for the Neber rearrangement of simple ketoxime sulfonates. For instance, treatment of (Z)-1a with p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (1.2 equiv), tetrabutylammonium bromide (5 mol %) and MeOH (10 equiv) in toluene-50% KOH aqueous solution (volume ratio = 3:1) at 0 degrees C for 2 h, and subsequent benzoylation followed by acidic hydrolysis afforded the protected alpha-amino ketone 2a in 80% isolated yield. On the basis of this finding, asymmetric Neber rearrangement with ketoxime (Z)-1a was examined under phase-transfer conditions using structurally rigid, C(2)-symmetric chiral quaternary ammonium bromide 3 as catalyst. The desired 2a was obtained in 80% yield and 51% ee. This represents the first experimental demonstration of the substantial involvement of anion pathway in the Neber rearrangement of simple ketoxime sulfonates. Importantly, the reaction with (E)-1a under otherwise similar conditions afforded racemic 2a in 61% yield. Moreover, enhanced enantioselectivity (63% ee) was observed in the rearrangement of the oxime sulfonate derived from (Z)-1b, and notably, use of mesitylene in place of toluene further increased the enantioselectivity to 70% ee. Our approach provides not only a new mechanistic insight but also an opportunity for extending the full synthetic utility of this classical yet useful rearrangement.